


Muffled Screaming

by TetrodotoxinB



Series: Whumptober 2019 [18]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Day 18, Jack being a good bro, Nightmare, Prompt: Muffled scream, References to past abduction, Whumptober 2019, alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 16:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21079919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TetrodotoxinB/pseuds/TetrodotoxinB
Summary: Jack wakes up to a sound that he didn't expect. But in hindsight, he really should have.





	Muffled Screaming

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [Secret_Library98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Library98/pseuds/Secret_Library98).

Jack does an odd mix of sleeping like the dead and waking up at the slightest provocation. Usually, it’s situational — he’s almost got a handle on not being on high alert when he’s not in the field — but tonight he’s in his own damn apartment when he flies awake at a sound he hasn’t even figured out yet.

Jack blinks, trying to see if there’s anything or anyone in his apartment that could trigger his internal air raid siren but nothing seems amiss. He lies there, staring at the ceiling, for a few minutes while he mentally recalibrates and tries to go back to sleep. After singing a little Guns n Roses to himself, Jack’s consciousness begins to grow fuzzy and he’s happily drifting off, when he hears it.

This time, Jack’s awake enough to make out what sounds like a shout. In an instant, Jack is on his feet, his sidearm in his hand. He creeps slowly towards the bedroom door and steps out into the hallway.

“No! No, please.” The plea is followed by a muffled scream and Jack abruptly remembers that Mac ended up staying the night after they had one too many beers for either of them to be driving Mac home.

“Shit,” Jack mutters softly as he runs to the sofa. He sets his side arm on the coffee table and kneels next to Mac’s prone form. "Hey, Mac. Come on. Hey, wake up."

Mac thrashes away from him. “Stop, stop!” It’s barely a whisper, the horror of whatever dream he’s having only barely making it out. 

Mindful of the danger of waking a combat vet from a nightmare, Jack puts a gentle hand on Mac’s shoulder and squeezes. “Get up, Mac. It’s just a dream,” he says, louder this time.

Tears drip onto the pillow and Mac recoils. Jack shakes Mac hard this time and shouts, “Wake up!!”

This time Mac pulls back so hard that the sofa moves, but it’s enough to wake him and he blinks blearily at Jack before sitting up.

“Fuck.”

Jack nods, because yeah, that about covers it. “Scoot over.”

Mac tucks his knees up in front of him and rests his elbows on them, hands in his hair.

“How often are you having that dream?” Jack asks after he’s settled onto the sofa.

“Few times a week,” Mac answers quietly.

“Murdoc?” Jack guesses.

Mac nods but doesn’t elaborate. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Jack presses, and Mac shakes his head. 

Honestly, Jack doesn’t need Mac to explain it — they already had to debrief Mac after Murdoc snatched him; sadly, Jack already knows the details. “That’s alright, Mac. We don’t need to talk if you don’t want to. You think you’re gonna go back to sleep?”

Mac shakes his head. “Never can after that.”

“Alright, Karate Kid it is,” Jack announces and gets up to go dig in his movie collection. 

It’s not a solution and it’s far from healthy, but Jack’s not really in any position to judge. He lost a couple years to PTSD and depression after his last tour, and he’s had more than his fair of sleepless nights. 

He pops the disc in the DVD player and flops back down on the sofa next to Mac. He can’t fix what Murdoc did, but he can be here for Mac. Sometimes, no matter how hard someone works, this shit is just part of the game. All he can do is support Mac through it.


End file.
